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Making Gift & Place Cards Extra Special - You Asked For It

That's right, readers of GaveThat.com really want to know how they can make their hostess favor gift tags and place cards extra special. Is there any way to spice them up and write something unique in each one? Here's what we've rounded up:

I was watching the PBS TV show A Moment of Luxury with William "Bill" Stubbs and he passed on a really great idea. Well actually two. One bright idea was to seek out museum gift shops as the sources of your next holiday gift stash. More on that later! The other idea which is more in keeping with Gave That reader needs was featured on a wedding themed piece. The wedding coordinator suggested writing poems and quotes on the place cards to help foster conversation among guests. I thought, wow brilliant! We've actually done this in the past on favor tags and I remember going to parties that used this fun trick as well. Unfortunately with the decline of place cards (most people apparently like to have sit down dinners in restaurants now) this is something I had rather forgotten about.

As with many things this can have the possibility of going very wrong. For instance I remember people standing around scratching their heads because the quotes used were overly complicated &/or made little to no sense. If you're tidbits need an entire textbook of background in order to understand, toss it for something simpler. Assuming people are going to pick up on something just because you're enamoured with it can also end up being a bad idea. You never know who might show up as a guest at your party and this can end up causing the dreaded feeling left out. Another memory plays in my mind of people becoming bored with a place card game because it's rules were alien and frustrating to everyone. The best way to make things work is to use uplifting quotes and heartfelt poetry by some of the great masters out there. Or, to add some debates, something a little controversial.

That's where my copy of the Letters of A Portuguese Nun by Myriam Cyr (Miramax Books) comes in. In the back there is a game called Thirty-two Questions on Love which are attributed to the Marquis de Sourdis. These would be perfect to scribble on gift favor enclosure cards and place cards at will.

What is the lesser crime in love, to be refused or not dare to ask?

Or you could simply ask if Mariana Alcoforado (the Portuguese Nun) is the true author of those 5 scorching love letters or was it really a man? A man on a dare? I tip my hat to Mariana in light of Galilei's daughter, the nun Suor Maria Celeste, who's letters are of a similar period and class of writing. Wait, what am I saying? This might go against my needing a textbook to explain advice above? Oh well, we'll just leave that one alone.